Group Financial Manager

SolarAfrica Energy Pty Ltd; Irene; On-site; ZAR 1,200,000 - 1,800,000; Full time

Job summary

SolarAfrica Energy Pty Ltd is seeking a Group Financial Manager to oversee consolidated financial reporting, governance, and control across the Group’s entities in South Africa. You will partner with the CFO and business leaders to standardise processes, improve reporting, and provide strategic financial insights to support growth.

Key responsibilities include leading monthly, quarterly, and annual consolidation; ensuring IFRS compliance, external audit readiness, and robust financial controls;

Qualifications

• CA(SA) qualified with articles completed.
• 7-10+ years post-articles finance experience.
• 3-5+ years in a leadership role within a group or multi-entity environment.
• Strong experience with financial consolidations and group reporting.
• Experience managing audits, budgeting, forecasting, and financial controls.
• Advanced Excel and financial systems/ERP experience.
• ERP/MS Dynamics experience: Advantageous

Responsibilities

• Own and manage the monthly, quarterly, and annual group consolidation process.
• Prepare consolidated management accounts, board reports, and financial performance packs.
• Ensure reporting deadlines are consistently met across all business entities.
• Review consolidated balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow reports.
• Ensure compliance with IFRS, tax legislation, company policies, and regulatory requirements.
• Maintain strong internal controls and financial governance frameworks.
• Drive audit readiness and manage relationships with external auditors.
• Oversee statutory reporting obligations across all jurisdictions.
• Provide financial insight and analysis to support strategic decision-making.
• Monitor group profitability, cash flow, working capital, and key financial metrics.
• Identify risks, opportunities, and performance trends across the business.
• Support executive leadership with scenario modelling and business case evaluations.
• Lead the annual budgeting process across all divisions and entities.
• Coordinate monthly forecasting and long-range planning activities.
• Challenge assumptions and ensure alignment with business objectives.
• Monitor performance against budget and recommend corrective actions.

Skills

CA(SA)

Consolidations

Audits

Budgeting

Forecasting

Leadership

Excel

ERP/MS Dynamics

Education

Chartered Accountant (CA(SA))

Tools

ERP Systems (MS Dynamics)

Job description

The Group Financial Manager is responsible for overseeing the financial management, reporting, governance, and control environment across all entities within the Group. This role ensures accurate and timely consolidated financial reporting, strong financial controls, compliance with accounting standards and statutory requirements, audit, annual financial statements and provides strategic financial insights to support executive decision-making and business growth.

The successful candidate will partner closely with the CFO, Head of Finance, and business leaders to drive financial performance, standardise processes, improve reporting capabilities, and maintain financial integrity across the Group.

Position of the job in the organisation:

The Group Financial Manager will report directly to the Head of Finance

Principal responsibilities:

Group Financial Reporting & Consolidation

• Own and manage the monthly, quarterly, and annual group consolidation process.
• Prepare consolidated management accounts, board reports, and financial performance packs.
• Ensure reporting deadlines are consistently met across all business entities.
• Review consolidated balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow reports.

Financial Governance & Compliance

• Ensure compliance with IFRS, tax legislation, company policies, and regulatory requirements.
• Maintain strong internal controls and financial governance frameworks across the Group.
• Drive audit readiness and manage relationships with external auditors.
• Oversee statutory reporting obligations across all jurisdictions.

Financial Performance Management

• Provide financial insight and analysis to support strategic decision-making.
• Monitor group profitability, cash flow, working capital, and key financial metrics.
• Identify risks, opportunities, and performance trends across the business.
• Support executive leadership with scenario modelling and business case evaluations.

Budgeting, Forecasting & Planning

• Lead the annual budgeting process across all divisions and entities.
• Coordinate monthly forecasting and long-range planning activities.
• Challenge assumptions and ensure alignment with business objectives.
• Monitor performance against budget and recommend corrective actions.

Audit and Annual Financial Statements

• Coordinate and manage the annual external audit process, including audit planning, deliverable tracking, auditor queries and timely resolution of audit matters.
• Prepare and review accurate IFRS-compliant Annual Financial Statements for Group entities, ensuring completeness, consistency and alignment to approved accounting policies.
• Ensure all audit schedules, supporting documentation, reconciliations and technical accounting papers are prepared to a high standard and submitted within agreed audit timelines.
• Drive timely sign-off of audit opinions and AFS by coordinating management reviews, board approvals, statutory filings and post-audit improvement actions.

Process Improvement & Systems Optimisation

• Identify opportunities to automate and improve financial processes.
• Standardise reporting and financial controls across the Group.
• Support finance system implementations, upgrades, and integrations.
• Drive efficiencies that improve reporting accuracy and decision-making.
• Any other job duties associated with this role.

Experience & Skills

• Chartered Accountant (CA(SA)).
• 7-10+ years post-articles finance experience.
• 3-5+ years in a leadership role within a group or multi-entity environment.
• Strong experience with financial consolidations and group reporting.
• Experience managing audits, budgeting, forecasting, and financial controls.
• Advanced Excel and financial systems/ERP experience.
• ERP/MS Dynamics experience: Advantageous

Desirable attributes:

• Renewable energy, infrastructure, project finance, or investment management experience.
• Experience working across multiple legal entities and jurisdictions
• Exposure to treasury, funding structures, and investor reporting

What Does Success Look Like?

By 3 Months

• I will be fully onboarded into the Group's finance structures, reporting requirements, systems, and key stakeholder relationships.
• I will have gained a thorough understanding of all Group entities, financial reporting processes, and consolidation requirements.
• I will be delivering accurate and timely monthly reporting while identifying opportunities for process improvements.
• Completed the year end audit draft AFS submitted to the auditors for sign off.

By 6 Months

• I will have taken full ownership of the Group consolidation and monthly reporting process.
• I will have strengthened financial controls, governance processes, and reporting consistency across all entities.
• I will be providing meaningful financial insights and recommendations to support business decision-making and performance improvement.

By 12 Months

• I will be recognised as a trusted financial partner to the CFO and leadership team.
• I will have improved the accuracy, efficiency, and timeliness of Group reporting and forecasting processes.
• I will have established a strong control environment, resulting in successful audit outcomes and compliance across the Group.

Core Values:

We hire, reward, and recognise our team against these values. It is imperative that you believe in these values and demonstrate them consistently.

• We are passionate and proud of what we do.
• We communicate candidly, especially when it is difficult
• We take the initiative, share our mistakes, and grow together
• We are dependable and take accountability
• No one person is bigger than the solution - no egos.

We are currently only considering candidates based in South Africa with valid working rights. Unfortunately, we are unable to consider applications from outside the country at this time.